Rutgers will have to deal with heat, air quality, crowd noise

Aug. 29, 2013

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FRESNO, CALIF. — The Rutgers football team boasts that it trains to be comfortable under any condition, from snow to a heat wave and everything in between, though it’s unlikely that coach Kyle Flood and his staff were able to replicate in Piscataway anything like the unusual cocktail of elements it found Thursday.

The temperature reached 100 degrees with 25 percent humidity — and it was hotter on the field — just before the late-night kickoff of Rutgers’ season-opening visit to Fresno State, but the oppressive weather did not keep almost 40,000 white-clad fans intent on making enough noise to tilt momentum from filing into Bulldog Stadium.

Impressive home-field advantage for sure, but not a pregame concern for Rutgers.

“We’ve had a great summer with Coach (Jeremy) Cole and one thing he always says is, ‘We’re built for anything,’ ” right tackle Taj Alexander said of the message from the leader of Rutgers’ strength and conditioning program. “We know what we have to go out there and get done. Our job is to win the game so we can’t worry about the heat, the crowd or anything like that.”

While Rutgers twice practiced in the indoor bubble – turning the thermostat up to 105 degrees and hanging “Welcome to Fresno” signs by the entrance door – and frequently blared its crowd noise sound track, an unexpected element crept into the picture within the last two weeks.

A Rim Fire responsible for burning almost 200,000 acres around Yosemite National Park is said to be affecting air quality in surrounding communities. Fresno is about 60 miles from Yosemite and is being used as a pit stop for aerial firefighters.

It is the second straight year that nature has been a storyline for Rutgers’ opener – Hurricane Isaac hit southeastern Louisiana last August in the days before Rutgers played at Tulane – and it reminded Flood of a trip he made to Idaho as an assistant coach at Hofstra in 2000, one year after Rutgers last played in California. Rutgers arrived Tuesday to ensure time to adjust to the west coast.

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“It was the same situation,” Flood said last week. “Really, when you walked around outside you could smell (smoke). I didn’t feel like it had an effect on the players during the game. I felt like after being out there for two days, whatever acclimation needed to take place had taken place and we were able to play through the game without an issue. But I think it will be good for us to be out there a day early.”

Is an extra day enough to counterbalance Fresno State’s established comfort level with its surroundings?

“I think elements become our advantage,” defensive end David Milewski said. “I take that to heart. Whether it’s 110 degrees or zero degrees, whether it’s rain, wind, cold or whatever it is. I think it’s only hot if you let it be hot. It can be 100 degrees outside and two people can react totally different to that 100 degrees. I think it’s all mental. We’re not shying away. We’re not afraid of the temperature.”

Of course, Fresno State’s offense creates its own nightmares.

The defending 2012 Mountain West Conference champions, who dressed in new white helmets and uniforms as part of a “White Out” promotion,” run an up-tempo scheme designed to generate 80 snaps per game – a lot by any team’s standards but an especially unforgiving number when defenses are fatigued and unable to substitute.

“We’re a ‘hang huddle,’ just on the field and looking to get the sideline calls,” linebacker Kevin Snyder said explaining the difference from a traditional huddle. “If they start to hurry up a lot and we can’t get the calls in, we’re able to make the calls on the field. That’s the main thing when you play an offense like them – they expect to get you out of position so they can get you real quick. If you can just get lined up and keep them in front of you, you can survive the fast-paced stuff and get off the field.”

No opponents survived last season, when Fresno State went 6-0 with a 31.6-point average margin of victory at home, and few ever survive at Bulldog Stadium, where Fresno State is 154-45-2 since 1980.

With a veteran defense, Rutgers went 2-4 last season when it faced more than 70 offensive plays. This year’s front seven is run by a redshirt freshman (Steve Longa) who made his first career start Thursday.

“I don’t have to call the plays and set the front if they go to a hurry-up offense,” Longa said. “We have Lorenzo (Waters) and Jeremy (Deering) who are in charge of other stuff like calling plays. It’s a team thing. I set the front and we’ve got the safeties to see the formation. It’s all about communication.”

And preparation, even when it happens 3,000 miles away.

“You always think about the potential conditions you could play the game in but we’ve done enough things in training camp … to make sure we challenge our players,” Flood said. “It’s really more mental than anything else. We’re very good shape, very good condition. I really like the tempo we practice at.”